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In time, the North Sydney restaurant resurgence (Glorietta, Poetica, Rafi and friends) will creep down the hill towards the ferry-serviced fringes of the north shore. Already, there are bright spots: Loulou Bistro in Milsons Point, Fiore Bakery in McMahons Point, and cool cafes such as BTB in Kirribilli.

Now the long-standing Kirribilli Village Cafe, with its Caesar salad, garlic prawns and BYO, has flipped into a contemporary neighbourhood Italian.

The name references the shadowy wine bars of Venice, and indeed, there’s an al fresco terrace along one side and bottles of wine lining the bar, on shelves and in temperature-controlled fridges.

That makes sense. New owner Tony Binning comes from Cremorne’s wine-focussed Barrel Bar & Dining. He’s one foot old-school and one foot new, having started with Peter Bignasca at Il Piemonte in Terrey Hills, and worked for Gordon Ramsay at The Savoy in London.

Korean-born chef Youngjae (Jay) Cho is more new-school, having previously worked at Automata, Banksii and Lucio’s in Paddington. Binning says Jay was the first chef he interviewed who wasn’t put off by the small kitchen and downstairs cool room, but simply said he could make it work.

That’s the sort of chef you want – the sort who will just make it work.

It’s a good match – Binning and his bustling hospitality, and Cho and his edgy, often intriguing takes on Italian-leaning dishes. That plays out as octopus with ink, fennel and lardo; casarecce pasta with lamb ragu; San Daniele prosciutto with candied almonds; and steamed coral trout with champagne sauce.

Burrata can be one-dimensional, but pairing it with anchovy, cherries and creamed almonds ($26) brings a welcome acidity and savouriness.

This happens again with Cho’s take on beef tartare ($29), the hand-chopped meat tossed in fermented chilli mayo, capped with finely sliced nashi pear, and spiked with small cubes of pickled daikon. The warm lick of chilli is held in balance by the coolness of the fruit, picked up by the crisp and bobbly seaweed cracker.

Tell me I’m culturally stereotyping here, but I reckon that’s a Korean chef move, using fruit to cool and refresh a savoury dish.

The wine list is such that you can play it safe or be adventurous. The locals are apparently cross about the end of BYO, but the prices are decent, with glasses from $12, and bottles from $49.

There are jars of preserved fruits and vegetables on shelves, and a long Tiffany-blue banquette pops against exposed brick walls and naked floorboards. Boomer hits swirl through the room, from Fine Young Cannibals and Creedence Clearwater Revival to the Beach Boys’ Pet Sounds.

Spaghetti carbonara ($29) is taken for a wild ride with chorizo, salami, guanciale, ’nduja, pecorino and puffed wild rice. Despite the overkill, it works as a traditional one would; the sauce eggy and clinging, creamy without cream. In truth, the spicy meats and warm hit of chilli send it closer to Sicily, or indeed, South-East Asia. I am completely confused by all this, but in a good way.

Wagyu 5+ rump ($58) is a great share dish, the meat crusty outside and burgundy-red within, on an elegant portion of celeriac cream and a ladleful of black pepper jus. Marinated in shio koji (a funky rice ferment), cooked sous-vide then hibachi-grilled and thickly sliced, it’s rich, savoury, well seasoned, clean-tasting and as tender as ox tongue. The dish of the night.

A precisely layered, cakey tiramisu ($17) also works, with the addition of Antica Formula vermouth and a dusting of Valrhona Manjari chocolate.

Interesting things happen when old and new schools come together, and Bacari will be a great choice for an Italian-leaning dinner or al fresco lunch with well-chosen, affordable wines.

Post-visit, I’ve been told the bathroom has had an upgrade, and a plate warmer means you can share dishes such as the wagyu on warm plates instead of cold ones. Fast fixes like that tell me that whatever happens, they’ll find a way to make it work.